Telstra launches 5G Innovation Centre

Telstra's new 5G centre is part of a wider AU$60m investment in Australia's Gold Coast region

Telstra has launched a new 5G Innovation Centre in Australia aimed at testing and developing next generation mobile services ahead of a 5G launch in the country.

The 5G Innovation Centre, which is located at Telstra’s Southport Exchange on Australia’s Gold Coast, is part of an AU$60 million investment in the region which will boost the infrastructure in the region.

Telstra chief operations officer Robyn Denholm said: “Telstra has already conducted Australia’s first 5G field trial and the world’s first 5G outdoor data call over 26GHz ‘mmWave’ radiofrequency spectrum. From our new 5G Innovation Centre we will be completing a number of 5G firsts in 2018 to ensure Australia remains at the forefront of mobile technology.

“5G has the potential to transform the way we all live and work. Like previous generations of mobile technology it will deliver more capacity and faster data speeds but on top of that it will support vastly more connected devices at very high levels of reliability and lower latency.

“5G will take us from a world of connecting people to each other and the internet to a world of ultra-fast mobile speeds and the Internet of Things on a mass scale. These enhancements will unleash a host of new opportunities – everything from smart cities and smart homes, to drones and driverless cars, to augmented reality in both entertainment and at work.”

Telstra’s 5G Innovation Centre is part of the Australian telco’s AU$5 billion investment to upgrade its mobile network, including plans to acquire spectrum in order to lay the foundations for 5G. The investment is spread over three years to 30 June 2019.

The centre will enable collaboration among technology vendors, developers, start-ups and enterprise customers, Telstra said, while it will also allow the telco to conduct further 5G field trials.

The Gold Coast is set to host a meeting of standards body the 3GPP in September that will see number of interested companies, including operators and vendors, develop the global standards for 5G deployments.

We look forward to hosting leading 5G developers from around the world so Australian businesses can begin developing products and services that will take advantage of 5G. Our activities at the Innovation Centre will culminate in the 3GPP meeting later in 2018 that will play a critical role in setting the 5G standards underpinning the launch of commercial services,” Denholm added.

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